In Victorian England, two young aristocrats, Jack and Algernon, lead parallel lives filled with deception and misunderstandings. Jack has created a fictional character named "Ernest" to escape his boring life in the countryside, using this alter ego to enjoy adventures in the city. On the other hand, Algernon, a consummate playboy, intrudes into Jack's life when he discovers his friend's secret and decides to assume the identity of "Ernest" to win over Gwendolen, Jack's charming cousin.
The confusion intensifies when Gwendolen, who is obsessed with the name Ernest, falls hopelessly in love with Algernon, who is posing as this fictional character. At the same time, Jack tries to confess his feelings to Gwendolen, but his deception threatens to crumble as complications escalate. When Jack's mother, the formidable Lady Bracknell, learns of her daughter's romantic pursuits with the fictional "Ernest," a host of social and familial obstacles comes into play.
The plot evolves into a hilarious tangle of mistaken identities and unexpected revelations, where love, hypocrisy, and social conventions are subjected to clever critique. With witty dialogues and absurd situations, the story revolves around the quest for authenticity in a superficial world, where the importance of being "earnest" turns out to be the true dilemma.